Assembly to plug loopholes in e-law

12/11/2015

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 11: The Parliament will address loopholes in the Electronic Media Law to ensure it does not suppress freedoms, says MP Yousef Al-Zalzalah. Al-Zalzalah made the statement in a seminar entitled, “Electronic Media Law. Supporters and Detractors,” held Tuesday at the Kuwait Lawyers Association (KLA) building.

The other speaker was KLA representative Attorney Hussein Al-Abdullah who said the current version of the law ignored opinion of the civil society and it restricts public freedoms. Al-Zalzalah stressed that undermining security and sowing discord under the pretext of public freedoms will not be tolerated while Al- Abdullah rejected suppression of public freedoms under the guise of maintaining peace and order. In his response, Al-Zalzalah said, “We in the Parliament do not pass laws which restrict freedom.” He affirmed the Parliament always considers the views of civil society and pressure groups in discussing issues at hand.

He argued, “This law is still in its infancy and it represents the ground from which modern legislation will take off”. On the other hand, Al-Abdullah said electronic media is one of the most important issues in the local arena. He clarified, “We are not against regulating the electronic media, but the law should not restrict public freedoms and rights guaranteed by the Constitution. In another development, the Budget and Final Accounts Committee in the National Assembly met officials of the Financial Controllers Agency on Wednesday.

Committee Chairman MP Adnan AbdulSamad said some of those who opposed the establishment of the agency are now occupying certain positions there. He revealed that during the meeting, the agency officials presented executive steps for the application of its law which was passed in the previous legislative term. He confirmed the executive regulations of the law have been completed and will be approved soon. He said the committee stressed the need for a clear work mechanism in the agency to stop financial irregularities in public institutions. He added the committee will use the agency’s reports for the approval or rejection of proposed budgets in the future.

Moreover, Interior and Defense Committee Chairman MP Sultan Al- Gusaim announced the panel’s priorities for the current legislative round including bills on naturalization, noncommissioned officers academy at the Ministry of Defense, Gathering Law, new areas in electoral constituencies, public authority for drug prevention and control, and prison regulations. He added the committee will soon discuss the naturalization file with Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid and head of the Central Agency for Remedying the Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) Saleh Al- Fadalah.